CEWARN

The Conflict Early Warning and Response Unit (CEWARN) is one of the components of IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development,) which is a regional cooperative structure based in Eastern Africa. CEWARN executes one of the core mandates of IGAD, namely the promotion of peace and security in the Horn of Africa by assessing situations that may lead to violent conflict and notifying relevant stakeholders in order to avoid escalation.

The CEWARN Mechanism in Ethiopia

Following the establishment of the CEWARN unit at the regional level, the CEWARN mechanism is Ethiopia was established in 2003. The mechanism, in line with the protocol to establish CEWARN, has two main components. These components are the early warning system and the response unit.

Early warning Component

The early warning (EW) system constitutes a network of a national research institute, country coordinators and field monitors. The main task of this EW system is to systematically collect data, monitor and submit reports about events likely to lead to violence in target areas using an empirically based standard format that is coded into the CEWARN Reporter.

As stipulated in the CEWARN protocol, the CEWARN unit identified and commissioned the national research unit for Ethiopia, InterAfrica Group, to handle the early warning portion of the mechanism. InterAfrica Group coordinates the EW process via selected country coordinators and field monitors that carry out the actual task of information collection, analysis and production of early warning reports.

A total of seven field monitors and two country coordinators were selected in this process. The field monitors, which are “the beginning and end of CEWARN’s data collection”, are selected based on the criteria of their local understanding and insights in the clusters’ ethnic/ political structures and developments. Most of them were born and raised in the area and have basic analytical skills. They are currently working in the area either as teachers or as staff of NGOs. Their main task is to collect relevant open source information from the specific area of the cluster he/she is stationed.

Similarly, the CCs and ACC, are selected based on the requirements of good analytical & skills and insight in local, regional and national socio-economic political structures, policies and developments. The CCs are responsible for the overall function, particularly analyzing and producing early warning reports. These reports include monthly reports showcasing the nature and evolution of conflict in the areas of reporting, and quarterly updates on the overall situation in the areas of reporting.

The CEWARN Mechanism in Ethiopia is currently operational into 2 areas/clusters. They are known as the Karamoja and Somali clusters. The former is located in the south Omo zone, covering the Kibish, Dassenech and Buboa areas. The latter covers the Borana and Somali regions particularly Moyale woreda, Dillo and Dire woreda, Hiddi woreda, and Dolo Ado.